Ikwesens Pinesi Kijikokwe, the wife of Andrew McPherson, of Three Rivers

 What's In a Name?

Is it really important that we know each other's names? Of course, you answer. How about when we are researching our ancestors? Is it important we use the correct name to search for them? Again, the answer is yes. However, we may at times need to use a variation of the name, until we find who we are looking for. After we find our ancestors, do we continue to use incorrect spellings or variations? No.

In unravelling the Macphersons of Three Rivers, often-times, the names of the aboriginal women were not English. At times, exact names were not transcribed, but replaced with infidel savage. One key example we will examine, is of a woman named Ikwesens Pinesi Kijikokwe. Popular genealogy sites feature Ikwesens in over 201 family trees.  For example, she is listed under the following names:

1. Marie-Binisi Okipikokivi Ikwesens
2. Marie Binissi Obijikokwe
3. Marie Binissi Obijikokwe
4. Marie Pines Binissi Ikwesens Sauvagesse Obijikokwe Objiway
5. Pinesi Okijikokwe (Ikwensens)
6. Marie Penesi Ikijikowe

One WikiTree¹ user has the following information regarding Ikwesens:

Marie (Ikwessens) Pinesikijkokwe (abt. 1779-1844) )Ikwessens- 1) and Ikwesens Binisi Okipikokive (Montagnaise) McPherson (abt. 1795- 1844) (Montagnaise- 2) have been proposed as a merge. There is a question as to what her name actually is and if the difference in birth date and name means that (Montagnaise- 2) is possibly a second wife to Andrew McPherson. 

If you are in a similar position to the countless genealogy site users, or if you are a WikiTree user in need of accurate information, then you have come to the right place. Let's begin with Ikwesens' name.  

Ikwesens Pinesi Kijikokwe

We learn many things from the name Ikwesens Pinesi Kijikokwe. It is a combination of two languages, Ojibwe and Algonquin. The First Nations people were a part of a matrilineal society where descent was traced through the maternal line. Aboriginal children were given the surname of their mother. Therefore, Pinesi was the surname of her father and Kijikokwe was the surname of her mother. The surname of Ikwesens' father gives us a clue as to where her family was from. They originated from  Ottawa River, Ontario. We know this because several hundred years ago, an Algonquin tribe called Pinesi² or the Partridge Band lived near Rideau Falls. But what do the records say about where Ikwesens was from? Her son, George McPherson, senior, listed her in an 1891 Census³ of Canada as being born in Ontario. 

What Ikwesens means

Ikwesens is a form of the Ojibwe word Lady. Pinesi is the Algonquin word for partridge and Kijikokwe is Ojibwe and partially means village. 

The Thing About Mary

Ikwesens was identified in her children's baptismal records as "an Indian Woman, a native of Temiscamingue District", Ontario. We also learn from the photo in the upper right-hand corner of this page, her first name was Ikwesens. If her name was Ikwesens, when was it changed to Marie? The answer to the question can be found in her baptismal record. 

From this record, we learn:

1. She was the wife of Andrew Macpherson of the Hudson's Bay Company.
2. She was 66 years of age.
3. She was baptized on January 18, 1844.
4. She was in Alymer, Quebec.
5. Her middle name was Pinesi.
6. Her last name was Kijikokwe.
7. Her name was no longer Ikwesens.
8. Her name was no longer Ikwesens infidele sauvage.

If we turn over to the next page in the Church Records, we see her death record:

1. She was the wife of Andrew Macpherson of the Hudson's Bay Company.
2. She died two days after being baptized.
3. She died on January 20, 1844.
4. She died in Alymer, Quebec.
5. We learn she was buried in Alymer, Quebec.
6. She likely died at the home of her daughter Philemon Fournier.
7. Joseph Fournier is a witness on her burial record.
8. We learn she was only referred to as Mary for two days.
9.  Her name was Ikwesens for 66 years.

Ikwesens Was the Grand-daughter of Chief Pinesi - proven through DNA

Ikwesens has been a topic of discussion on many social media platforms. There are many speculations as to who she was, where she was born, and whether she spoke English. As discussed, she was born in Ontario, and she spoke English, French, Algonquin, and Ojibwe. When Ikwesens was born in 1779, her father, Simon Chimaganich Constant Pinesi and mother, Cecile Pawitikokwe, had not begun baptizing their children. Ikwesens' sister, Marie Anne Pinesi Wikijikokwe, on the other-hand, born in 1791, was baptized. 

Ikwesens was likely baptized in an incapacitated "coma-like" state on January 18, 1844. It was a European practice to give a dying unbaptized person a choice to become baptized. It has been concluded that Ikwesens was determined to "hold fast" to her cherished Aboriginal culture, beliefs and traditions, and did not consent to baptism. Therefore, her modern-day family submitted her baptismal/burial records to the Metis Nation of Ontario for analysis. Know History, the renowned Ottawa-based research group, is used by MNO to verify Metis lines. After studying her baptismal/burial records, her name has been restored to Ikwesens. Marie is an alternative name because it can be found in her baptismal and burial records. Additionally, the McPherson family has had the names of other McPherson Aboriginal women restored with the MNO and Library and Archives Canada. We are their voices because they cannot speak for themselves.  Therefore, we urge you to please use the official name Ikwesens. It is what she would have wanted.

Ikwesens' Family Tree
Designed with Family Echo

© 2022

Foot Notes:

1 ^↩
2 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/pinesi-portage-algonquin-history-revitalized-1.6227238^↩
3 https://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.item/?app=Census1891&op=img&id=30953_148126-00104^↩

Photo Credits: ancestry.ca

Websites on Related Pinesi Topics:

Virtual Walk: Chief Pinesi's Portage between Ottawa and Rideau Rivers

Why Enthusiasts are Mapping an Algonquin Portage Route in Downtown Ottawa

Chief Pinesi Day

Revitalizing Indigenous portage routes

Archaeology In Canada's Capital

Algonkin: The Algonquin People - History, Culture & Affiliations - Canada & USA

Further information about Ikwesens can be found within this carefully researched novel. It is a combination of fiction and non-fiction, however, there are many gems that have been retrieved from the journal of Angus Cameron, North West Company part-owner and letters written by George Simpson regarding her.